"Kill!" The soldiers of the Great Yu Dynasty, morale soaring, shouted in unison as they charged forward. As for Elder Carter, he naturally pretended to be injured, supporting General Grant, picked up a shield to block in front, and stood still to watch the battle.

Today’s military achievements are enough; there’s no need to risk my life any further, thought Elder Carter.

The army of the Great Yu Dynasty pressed the attack, pursuing the enemy for more than ten miles before finally stopping. Afterwards, they sang songs of victory and returned triumphantly to camp.

Soon, the good news was sent to the Governor’s Office of Beidu Province, the General’s Mansion, and the capital city of Yu. Of course, this was done by sending messages via carrier birds. Although Eshan was far from the capital, the specially trained birds were quite fast. The message could still arrive within two days.

Of course, Charles Carter pretended not to know about the credit for killing Gonta, the tenth-rank master. All the credit was given to George Grant. George Grant, naturally well aware, insisted on attributing the credit for killing the other two enemy sixth-rank generals to Charles Carter.

A significant entry was made in the record of merits, and five days later, Charles Carter was summoned by General Grant to the main command tent.

When Charles Carter entered, he found several generals already seated inside, with Jack Foster standing beside General Grant. Opposite General Grant sat a civil official.

Judging by the official’s hat, he should be a fifth-rank civil official. Charles Carter thought this person was here to reward the soldiers and paid no further attention. After all, such things were common—local officials often came to the camp to bring pork and vegetables to comfort the officers and soldiers. However, seeing how warmly General George Grant treated this minor fifth-rank official, Charles Carter felt a bit puzzled.

"Charles Carter, come and greet Lord Mr. Steel from the Ministry of Personnel," George Grant called out as soon as Charles Carter entered.

So, he’s from the Ministry of Personnel. I guess he’s here to confer official titles. I wonder who’s getting promoted this time, thought Charles Carter, stepping forward respectfully to salute.

The official system of the Great Yu Dynasty was somewhat similar to that of the Qing Dynasty in China. The Ministry of Personnel essentially played the role of the modern Organization Department. However, in ancient China, the Ministry of Personnel only evaluated and appointed civil officials, while military officials were appointed by the Grand Council.

The Great Yu Dynasty was different in that the Ministry of Personnel had a special division for appointing military officers, called the Military Administration Division. This division could only appoint military officers below the fifth rank.

For fifth rank and above, the Grand Council had to select candidates, and the emperor personally made the appointments. After all, military power has always been the top priority in any era; otherwise, one’s position would not be secure.

Of course, although in name the appointments were made personally by the King of Yu, in reality, the Great Yu Dynasty was so vast that there were no fewer than a hundred thousand generals of fifth rank and above. How could the King of Yu possibly appoint them all himself?

Therefore, the Grand Council wielded tremendous power. Its core ministers were usually princes of the royal family—brothers or uncles of the King of Yu—along with some highly influential dukes and marquises.

"Mm, so you are Charles Carter." Unexpectedly, Lord Mr. Steel seemed quite interested in Charles Carter, staring at him for several moments.

Chapter 0013: Promoted Three Ranks in a Row

"Charles Carter has indeed rendered great service this time. Even in the slaying of Gonta, I could not have done it without his help," George Grant said with a smile, seemingly building up Charles Carter's reputation.

"Charles Carter, based on General General Grant's strong recommendation and our own investigation, your military achievements are truly outstanding.

Not only did you assist General General Grant in eliminating the national threat, General Gonta, but you also single-handedly killed three sixth-rank generals of the Yuan State.

Therefore, based on the recommendation from Beidu Province, our Ministry of Personnel’s Military Administration Division has selected you. You are hereby appointed as Deputy Qianzong of the Black Banner Army, an external post of the eighth subordinate rank, with an annual salary of..." Lord Mr. Stanley solemnly read out the official document from the Ministry of Personnel of the Great Yu Dynasty.

In just about a month, Charles Carter had been promoted three ranks in a row from the ninth subordinate rank to the eighth subordinate rank. The official ranking system of the Great Yu Dynasty was also divided into nine ranks and eighteen grades. Each rank had a "subordinate" and a "regular" grade, which basically meant deputy and principal positions.

At the same time, Jack Foster also happily received an official document from the Military Administration Division of the Ministry of Personnel, promoting him to Deputy Qianzong of the General’s Guard, also of the eighth subordinate rank—the same as Charles Carter. The two brothers were promoted together, one leading the regular army, the other the personal guard. With this inside-outside combination, they naturally felt delighted. That night, they gathered in the forest to roast wild rabbit meat together.

"Carter Brothers, your ability to get promoted puts me to shame," Jack Foster now regarded Charles Carter as an equal, and there was even a hint of flattery in his tone, for he had witnessed Charles Carter's strength.

In fact, Jack Foster's position was more important than Charles Carter's, as his job was to protect the more than twenty generals stationed at the Eshan military camp, especially to coordinate the protection of General Grant. As the saying goes, "Those close to the water get the moon first." If he served the generals well, his chances of promotion would naturally increase.

"Not at all, Brother Foster, I was just a bit lucky. These days, I have you to thank for looking after me," Charles Carter replied modestly. After all, one should remain humble.

"Heh heh, sigh, brother, let me tell you something real. It’s still easy for us to get promoted now, but it’ll only get harder from here on out," Jack Foster said with a sigh, looking a bit bitter.

"I understand. The higher the rank, the fewer the positions, right?" said Charles Carter.